1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radio information bulletin board, and more particularly to a radio information bulletin board for storing digital information, and for providing the stored digital information in response to a request.
2. Description of Related Art
There are generally bulletin boards, information boards, advertisement boards, illustration boards and so on as means for providing information to a lot of people. In contrast with these means, there are electronic bulletin boards that apply information communications technique, for example. As one of the types of the electronic bulletin boards, there are radio electronic bulletin boards that receive information to be displayed on an electronic bulletin board by radio waves.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of a conventional radio electronic bulletin board. In FIG. 6, the reference numeral 109 designates an information receiver for receiving display information sent from a portable radio information terminal 101 by radio waves; 102 designates a display information storage for storing display information received by the information receiver 109; 103 designates an information display unit for reading and displaying the display information stored in the display information storage 102; and 104 designates a controller for controlling the entire radio electronic bulletin board 110. The conventional radio electronic bulletin board 110 consists of the information receiver 109, display information storage 102, information display unit 103 and controller 104.
Next, the operation of the conventional radio electronic bulletin board 110 will be described. The information receiver 109 enters, by a command from the controller 104, a state in which it can receive a signal continuously or at every fixed time interval. When some change is to take place in the display contents on the information display unit 103, the portable radio information terminal 101, which provides the radio electronic bulletin board 110 with the display information, sends a display information reception request to the information receiver 109 through a channel available for the information receiver 109.
Capturing the display information reception request sent from the portable radio information terminal 101, the controller 104 commands the information receiver 109 to receive the display information. As a result, the information receiver 109 sends a response signal back to the portable radio information terminal 101, and the portable radio information terminal 101, receiving the response signal, starts to transfer the display information to the information receiver 109.
Receiving the display information sent from the portable radio information terminal 101, the information receiver 109 stores the information sequentially into the display information storage 102. Thus, the display information received by the information receiver 109 is sequentially stored in the display information storage 102. After receiving the entire display information, the information receiver 109 carries out a reception terminating processing between it and the portable radio information terminal 101.
After confirming that the entire display information is stored in the display information storage 102, the controller 104 commands the information display unit 103 to display the information stored in the display information storage 102. In response to the command, the information display unit 103 reads the display information from the display information storage 102, and displays the display information sent from the portable radio information terminal 101. After that, the information display unit 103 continues to read the display information stored in the display information storage 102 and display it until a new display information change request is supplied from the controller 104.
The foregoing conventional radio electronic bulletin board 110 has only a function to store the display information fed from the outside, and to display it. Those who watch the radio electronic bulletin board 110 and find information necessary for them in the display information take notes of the display information or memorize it to reuse it afterward.
However, in the method to reuse the display information by taking notes from the radio electronic bulletin board 110, an increasing volume of the information to be noted can present problems, in particular when the information volume to be noted is large, in that it takes a long time to make notes, it is difficult to take notes in an environment without a desk, and errors can take place in taking notes. On the other hand, in the method of memorizing the information by watching it on radio electronic bulletin board 110, problems arise because of errors in memory, forgetting, and the like.